Typha latifolia L., Typhaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  High risk, score: 26 (Go to the risk assessment)

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: kuan ye xiang pu

English: broad-leaf cattail, cattail, common cattail, Cooper's reed, giant reed-mace, great cattail, soft flag

French: roseau des étangs

Spanish: espadaña común, piriope, totora, tule espidilla

Habit:  aquatic herb

Description:  "Plants usually coarse and stout; stems 1-3 m long.  Leaves 12-16 per vegetative stem, pale green, nearly flat, 8-20 mm wide, sheath open to base, the scarious upper margins tapering or rarely truncate.  Staminate and pistillate spikes contiguous or occasionally separated by an interval up to 2.5 cm long; staminate spikes pale brown, the flowers with simple hairs, stamens on branched filaments, pollen yellow or occasionally orange, in tetrads; pistillate spikes dark brown, 10-18 cm long, 1.5-3 cm in diameter, flowers without scales or hairs, on slender, often hair-like, compound pedicels 1-2 mm long.  Fruit ellipsoid, (0.9-) 1.2-1.5 (-1.6) mm long"  (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 1614).

Habitat/ecology:  "Freshwater wetlands, marshes, riparian habitats, coastal estuaries.  This plant grows vigorously in shallow waters and forms dense monospecific stands that reduce species richness and eliminate native vegetation.  Such stands impede the water flow and increase bank erosion and siltation.  Through anaerobic decay of excess plant material the water may become polluted"  (Weber, 2003; p. 443).

In Hawai‘i, "sparingly naturalized in low elevation, marshy sites"  (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 1614).

Propagation:  Seed and rhizomes.  "Seeds are dispersed by water and remain viable for long periods of time.  Newly established plants spread rapidly by rhizome growth and expand laterally"  (Weber, 2003; p. 443).

Native range:  "Eurasia, northern Africa, and North America" (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 1614).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced invasive	Staples, George W./Imada, Clyde T./Herbst, Derral R. (2003) (p. 19) Voucher cited: C. Imada & R. Englund 2001-13 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1614)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1614) Voucher cited: Liu s.n. (BISH)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia Australia (continental)	Australia (continental)	introduced invasive	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Canada Province of British Columbia	Canada (British Columbia)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Chile (continental) Chile	Chile (Republic of)		Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (pp. 372-373)
China China	China (People's Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011) Northern China.
Ecuador (Mainland) Ecuador	Ecuador (Republic of) (continental)		Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (pp. 372-373)
Guatemala Guatemala	Guatemala (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Japan Japan	Japan (country)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	introduced cultivated	Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 88) Cultivated only
United States (west coast) United States (west coast states)	USA (Oregon)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
United States (west coast) United States (west coast states)	USA (California)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
United States (west coast) United States (west coast states)	USA (Washington)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)

Control:  Additional control information from the Bugwood Wiki.

Physical:  "Hand pulling is practicable for scattered plants and small infestations.  Mechanical cutting below the water line plroved to be effective in killing the plant, the best time is at the end of flowering".

Chemical:  "A number of herbicides are used for chemical control, e.g. glyphosate, amitrole, dalapon, 2,4-D or TCA.  Success depends on time of application and density of infestations"  (Weber, 2003; p. 443).

Additional information:
Information from the Global Invasive Species Database.
Information from the Fire Effects Information System.
Fact sheet from the Government of Queensland, Australia. (PDF format).
Information from the Bugwood Wiki.

Additional online information about Typha latifolia is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Typha latifolia as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Typha latifolia may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. 2009. A checklist of the total vascular plant flora of Singapore: native, naturalised and cultivated species. Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, National University of Singapore. 273 pp.

Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. 1979. A geographical atlas of world weeds. John Wiley & Sons, New York. 391 pp.

Staples, George W./Imada, Clyde T./Herbst, Derral R. 2003. New Hawaiian plant records for 2001. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucius G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2001-2002. Part 2: Notes. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 74:7-21.

U. S. Government. 2011. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) (on-line resource).

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. 1999. Manual of the flowering plants of Hawaii. Revised edition. Bernice P. Bishop Museum special publication. University of Hawai‘i Press/Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 1919 pp. (two volumes).

Weber, Ewald. 2003. Invasive plants of the World. CABI Publishing, CAB International, Wallingford, UK. 548 pp.

Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong. 2011. Flora of China (online resource).